Two Weeks Off

So, today it was back to work after a two-week holiday break. Getting up this morning wasn't that bad, but the lovely film of ice on every horizontal surface made walking the dog and getting to the bus stop more, um, interesting than usual. (Last night's weather report downplayed the potential for iciness, suggesting it would only be an inconvenience for those located beyond 128.)

For the record, I fell only once, and the dog helped mitigate it somewhat by pulling away from me on her leash, thus providing a sort of counterweight to my descending mass. I don't know how the poor thing remained upright; lower center of gravity, I guess. Needless to say, it was a short walk.

This morning's other bit of fun was getting the Christmas tree outside for pickup. I had finished undecorating it last night, but by then the Mrs. had gone to sleep, and I didn't want to risk disturbing her or stepping on the dog, who has a tendency to get underfoot at the wrong times and is quite adept at sneaking up on us undetected. As it turned out, doing it this morning was the better idea, in spite of the ice. I left the dog to contemplate her breakfast in her crate, so she was out of harm's way, and it took only about 90 seconds to carry the tree outside, dislodge it from its stand, and drop it by the curb.

Two weeks isn't really that much time to be away from work, but it's long enough to pull you out of the rhythm of your typical daily routine, and definitely long enough to get comfortable with the idea of not having a daily routine. Having had a few periods of extended unemployment in my life, I can assure any of you that haven't had the pleasure that not working is just about the best thing ever, except for that pesky little issue of not making any money.

Many times I've heard people say things like, "I couldn't stand not working. I'd get so bored I wouldn't know what to do with myself." This never happened to me, not even once. It seemed like I always had something that needed to be done, whether it was household chores or an errand. And in the absence of either of those, there are the decades worth of books I've never gotten around to reading and movies I've never seen.

No, the worst thing about not working is going back to work. It's like rebooting a computer, only it takes a while longer to get back to a state of readiness. Consequently, today hasn't been terribly productive, though I did manage to attend my one required weekly status meeting, answer a few emails, and produce some actual work content. I imagine I'll be more or less back up to speed in another day or two. Now, when's our next holiday?